It's Just a Game
by Sky's Penname
Summary: Love isn't something that should be in a game. Yet here it is. Kite and Blackrose oneshot.


Sky: Ah, this is my first Dot Hack story. I really should have written something a long time ago. For anyone that's like a major Dot Hack fan, I'm one too, it's just I don't know exactly everything about it. I know some stuff will be wrong or weird, but that's how I liked it. I was inspired to write a romance because of my friend Celestial. I hope it's okay. Here you go!

**

* * *

**

**It's Just a Game**

Kite stood on the edge of a large stone bridge, staring into the dark water below. In it, he saw his reflection. A boy wearing red clothes and a red hat to match. His light-blue hair seemed to go in whatever direction it wanted. Either way, his reflection didn't matter here. This was just the character he played in The World.

With all of the chaos over, Kite now could play The World for his own amusement, not to save his friends. The World was quite an amazing game. It looked so real, he admitted. Everyone had their own movements, and their own expressions, just like the real world.

Kite turned around to gaze now at the players in this sever. Carmina Gadelica was one of his favorite servers after all. One character was flailing his hands in the air after seeing the price another man was putting on his weapon. The man selling the item had a mischievous grin across his face, because he could tell he would get tons of money from this.

Why did someone make a game like this? Where people had facial expressions, free movements, and everything else that made a person real. Well… except one thing.

He couldn't feel any of it.

No matter how cold a field was, no matter how many swords get stuck in his chest, he could never really feel it. Of course, people pretended to feel it, because that's what you're supposed to do in this game. Role-play.

The night sky over him twinkled with stars, and the city was still up chattering. The city was mainly made of stone, but electric lights were everywhere around him. There were plenty of waterways and lakes for one to spend a romantic time with as well.

"Oh! Kite, is that you?"

The character snapped out of his thoughts and turned his head to meet with his old friend's smiling face. Mistral. Her character was a little small and had short light red hair. She wore some strange baggy white clothes that looked like they were too big for her, and were for a priest. On her head she had a strange white hat to match.

"Hey, Mistral," Kite sighed. He was never one to talk much.

The girl's eyes scanned over him and she poked the boy with her staff. "Is something wrong?"

Kite would have liked to say what was bothering him, but he wasn't so sure himself. Why did it matter if he could feel or not? It was just a game after all. "No, not at all. How are things at home with you? Is your baby doing okay?"

Immediately, the girl's eyes lit up with excitement. It was strange to believe that in real life, this girl was a housewife. "Oh everything is great! She's so cute and wonderful! I really love taking care of her and…"

Mistral paused for a moment. "And?" Kite waved his hand in front of her face.

"Oh no!" she jumped. "Oh damn it! My food is burnt to a crisp because I wasn't paying attention again!" Mistral calmed down for a moment and looked Kite in the eyes. "I have to log off now!"

Kite chuckled a bit. "That's fine. Goodbye, Mistral."

Before she logged off, she kept a silent firm look at Kite. Suddenly, as if she saw through him, Mistral gave a sneaky smirk. "If you're having love problems, you can always ask me about it! Bye!"

Stunned by her outburst, Kite tried to ask her what that meant. It was too late however, for Mistral held up her staff and logged out. Three large golden circlets went over her body and she was gone. It was kind of funny, but Kite had always thought those yellow circles looked like crowns or circlets.

'I wonder what she's talking about,' Kite sighed, looking back into the night waters. Love problems…

He'd have to be in love for that. Mistral always was a little spacey, she must not know what she's talking about. Who would he be in love with anyways? There was no one at his school he liked. As a matter of fact, he didn't talk to nearly anyone at school. He only talked with Orca.

Wait, could she have been referring to Blackrose?

Kite let out a low chuckle. Blackrose was great and all, but she was just his good friend. She was always there to help him when he needed it, and often saved him from plenty of monsters on a daily basis. She was really determined and easily angered. Just about anything "pisses her off" as she always says.

Sure, sometimes the two would find a nice grassy field to lie in, but that didn't mean anything. On those lazy days, he'd simply lie on the fake grass and stare up at the blue sky, talking with Blackrose about things he liked and wanted to do. Well, it was strange, he supposed, that he would actually talk to someone so much. It really didn't matter; Mistral is crazy to think that he could fall in love with a girl that he played this game with.

Because…

He stared at his brown-gloved hand.

Because he would never be able to feel her.

I mean, sure he could hear her voice and see her movements, but… what about kissing? You couldn't truly kiss on this game. Besides, those weren't even her real looks, not that it really mattered. It'd be stupid to fall in love with a girl in a game.

What was he thinking? He didn't need to be having these thoughts, because he didn't love her!

"Oh, wow, hey are you Kite?"

Kite turned around slowly with a sigh. His eyes met with that of a level 1 blademaster. "…yes. I'm Kite."

The player in heavy armor lifted up his sword happily. "You wanna make a party with me?"

"Well… um…" Kite stuttered. He didn't really want to make a party with this guy, but he didn't want to sound rude. "Uh… well… okay."

"That's great!" he howled. "I'm gonna be working with the legendary Kite!"

The 'legendary' player sighed.

"Hey, you!" a female voice shouted from afar. "Newbie, what do you think you're doing? Don't even think about bothering Kite!"

Just in time, Blackrose came storming in, hefting her Heavyblade in the air to scare the new player. "Wh-what are you doing?" the player cowered.

Skidding to a stop, Blackrose began waving her huge sword at the newbie's face. "Can't you see he doesn't want to make a party with you? Get lost, you newbie!"

The player, looking as if he were going to wet himself, crawled out beneath the girl's glare. Scrambling to his feet, he ran in the opposite direction as fast as he could, sure to never bother Kite again. With a chuckle, Kite looked to Blackrose. "Hi."

Blackrose's light-pink hair never really suited her. It was pretty short and went in every which way it chose. Her clothes… they had always made things a little awkward for Kite. She wore an armored… bra pretty much. One of the leather straps went over her shoulder, while the other went around her back. Her character's body was always showing quite a bit. To add to that, she wore an armored skirt-like belt that almost went down to her knees.

"Just what are you looking at, Kite?" Blackrose demanded, glaring at the boy who looked to be staring at her body.

Jumping, he shook his head nervously. "I didn't mean to stare like that! Really! I was just thinking, sorry."

Her olive-dark skin seemed to tingle. "Well watch where you're thinking! This is just like the real world, staring like that can really piss people off!"

Kite smiled and let out a small giggle to tease her. "Blackrose, what do you want to do today? How is your brother?"

Losing her evil glare, Blackrose smiled and sat on the edge of the bridge. "My brother is just fine thanks to you," she said gently, her smile much kinder than Kite was used to. "Because you fought so bravely, he's out of that coma that the game put him in. I can't thank you enough for that, Kite."

Feeling awkward, Kite said nothing and looked to the side for a moment.

Blackrose laughed. "I know, I know," she teased. "You're horrible at taking compliments. Now…" she looked up at the night sky too. "What do we want to do tonight…? How about we go to a field and hang out? I'm a little too tired to go fighting."

Kite nodded. He didn't feel like fighting either anyways.

So the two walked down the streets silently, watching the players talk and trade all around under the electric lights. Some players were holding hands and saying kind things about each other. Kite noted, however, that those people were actually married in real life, so it was okay to do that. The World really gets all kinds of different players.

Finally, they found the town center where the Chaos Gate was. Like always, the liquid blue circle spun slowly. Players were coming and leaving from it. Blackrose looked over to Kite. "Well, I figured today… we could go to a field called 'Beautiful Haunting Corridor.' What do you think?"

Kite smiled. "An ice field? All right, it sounds nice and empty." He walked up to the spinning circular panel. A screen popped up with a list of hundreds of keywords. "Beautiful Haunting Corridor," he repeated, letting the game process it for a moment.

Soon the golden circlets appeared over their heads and transported them away. In a flash, the three circlets rose up from their bodies and they arrived at their destination.

A snow covered paradise. The empty field spread infinitely with the white stuff, the night sky still high overhead. A few statues and dead trees were across the lands, but that was it. On their map, it showed that the dungeon was just south of them, but they had no intention of going to it.

"Brr… kinda chilly, huh?" Blackrose smiled, wrapping an arm around herself.

Of course it wasn't really cold. But that's what you do in this game. Role play. Kite wasn't exactly in the mood to do so though. "Yeah, kinda."

Blackrose dropped the act for a moment and looked at Kite with concern. "Hey there, is something wrong? Anything you wanna talk about?"

He shook his head, keeping quiet. There really wasn't anything bothering him, he just… he just didn't want to talk. That's all, he guessed.

Suddenly, the girl's smile turned into a frown. "Well, if there's nothing wrong, then don't act like it! Geez, I don't even know why I put up with you!"

Letting out a deep sigh, Blackrose began to walk off, the snow crunching under her heavy boots. Kite followed silently, thinking to himself what would happen if he truly could feel inside this game. Maybe… maybe if it wasn't a game he'd… like Blackrose. Maybe.

After a few moments of silent walking, the two found a tall snowy hill. "Here, sit down, Kite," Blackrose ordered, planting herself down on the snow as well. "Come on, talk to me."

There's nothing to talk about… Blackrose shouldn't even be considered 'real.' She's just a person in a game. These feelings… they're wrong. They have to be wrong.

Blackrose suddenly looked to the ground. "Kite…" she said, sounding strangely weak. The snow shifted under her as she silently moved towards him. "It's cold… don't you think? You have all that clothing on…" She kept her gaze away from his. "Maybe you could help me warm up…?"

What was she doing?

What should he do? It was just a game… it shouldn't matter if…

Kite silently put his arms around Blackrose, putting his head against hers. "Is… is that better?" Kite mumbled, feeling a slight heat come to his cheeks. The game even recognized these kinds of changes and showed them on the character if the player were to blush.

"Mmhmm…" she nodded, putting her own arm around Kite. "Thank you."  
This wasn't right… he couldn't feel her warmth. He couldn't feel his skin touch hers. He didn't truly know Blackrose like this… it was all a lie. As long as… as long as this means nothing, it doesn't matter.

Pressing her head onto his shoulder, Blackrose let out a whisper. A whisper that could lead to happiness, or a whisper that could lead to despair. A whisper that stung Kite's heart, whether he was in a game or not.

"I love you, Kite."

Something ran up the boy's spine and he jumped up from his seat next to Blackrose. His arms no longer around her body, he could only look at her and tremble. "Wh-what did you just say?"

The virtual player stood up, looking at her feet. "I um… you heard me."

Kite said nothing, keeping his eyes on her face. A face he could never feel. A face that wasn't real.

"You've done so much for me. I know I pretend to be tough," she sighed. "But, you of all people… you know I'm not tough at all."

Suddenly, unable to know or understand why, he began to speak again. "That's not true, Blackrose. You've saved me a countless number of times. I would be in a coma long ago if it weren't for you. You're as tough as they come."

Trembling, Blackrose tried her best to face Kite. "Do… do you love me?"

Kite took a step back, a flood of thoughts rushing into his head.

Yes, I do love you! No, this is a game, I can't love you. Why do you have to tamper with my heart? This isn't right. This is a game. I can't do this. I love you, but… I can't.

His mouth was clamped shut. His heart was pounding, and his body couldn't stop trembling. He didn't know what to do! "I…" was all he could let out. There was only one thing he could do. Quickly, he held up one of his daggers and logged out. "Goodbye…"

"Kite…" Blackrose sighed, holding out her hand. It was too late. He was gone. Hopefully she didn't screw everything up again…

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was a few minutes since Kite had left.

Blackrose let out a deep and unhappy sigh, staring out into the endless white sea. Kite… must not have loved her back. There was no reason for him to love her after all. She was bossy, rude, loud, and… scary.

From behind, she heard the sound of a large pounding. Turning her head, she shot up, holding her large sword up defensively. Kite certainly picked a bad time to leave.

In front of her was a monster called 'Squidbod.' It was a large armored monster with a pointed head and one shining red eye. Its right hand was a mace. Usually, this type of monster would be a piece of cake for her.

Blackrose let out a battle cry and charged forward. She swung her heavy sword down on the creature, only to see it bounce right off. "Great… it has a physical tolerance. Kite is the one who had magic… not me."

She let out a sigh, just barely jumping out of the way from its mace. Kite would never love her back… this was a game after all. She couldn't feel him ever… but that didn't matter to Blackrose. She thought it wouldn't matter to Kite either, but it looked like she was wrong.

Not paying attention, the monster struck a deadly blow to Blackrose, throwing her down into the snow and sending her weapon flying.

She was probably wrong about a lot of things. Her heart was aching. Now she and Kite probably couldn't even be friends anymore. This was just a game, yet everything hurt so much. "Damn it…" she swore, as tears began to run down her cheeks. "Don't cry… I shouldn't be crying…"

The monster's red eye lit up with glee as it made its way over to Blackrose, looming over her body and casting a dark shadow. Her HP was down to just a speck by now.

Why did she always screw things up like this? Why couldn't she have just kept her mouth shut? Why couldn't she control herself ever? Why should… why should a game hurt so much?

Feeling no remorse for the girl, the monster swung its heavy arm down into Blackrose, killing her finally.

In the last moment, Blackrose's arm fell down onto the spot in the snow where Kite had sat. Her hand twitched slightly as her life began to end. The girl's body turned into a pale gray, until she finally disintegrated. All that was left were her tears that stained the perfect white snow.

Kite…

_Game Over. _

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Kite let out a deep shuddering sigh, sitting in a secluded corner of the Fort Ouph server. He liked this place when he wanted to be alone. It was big enough to hide him from anyone.

Fort Ouph was a very special server. It was a city that floated high above the sky. Long stone bridges connected each building together, and over the railings, one could see only the soaring clouds. The sun was shining brightly today, as it had been just last night that Kite ran from Blackrose.

Sitting in his corner, he began to pick at the rocky wall next to him unconsciously. What was he supposed to do? Blackrose… he just wished… he just wished there was someway to be with her truly. But he can't. If he were to be with her here, it just wouldn't be right. Yet, the two of them were hurting so much.

"Having some trouble, Kite?" Mistral's voice broke into his thoughts.

The boy jumped and looked up to see the redhead staring right down on him with a goofy grin. "I, uh… no." He shook his head. "Hey, wait, how did you know I was here?"

"You always come here when you're depressed," she sighed. "Like I said, if you're having any love trouble, talk to me! I'm great with love!"

Feeling skeptical, Kite asked, "How many boyfriends have you had before your husband?"

"None! My husband was the only one!" she smiled.

"…"

Mistral giggled and sat down with Kite. "Come on, it's okay, you can talk with me about it," she said in a gentle tone.

Maybe it was best just to talk about it after all. It couldn't hurt. "I… might have love problems after all…" Kite looked away, embarrassed.

"Blackrose?" Mistral tilted her head, reading his mind almost.

It was hard to get it out of his throat. He struggled for nearly a minute, before he simply just nodded. "Y-yes…"

"Does she love you?" Mistral turned Kite's face to look at hers.

He could feel the daggers coming back into his heard again. "Y-yeah."

"Do you love her?" the girl gave a serious look into his eyes. Kite didn't respond. "Do you?"

How am I supposed to know? I love her, but… not like this. I just can't love her like this. "I-I don't know…" he finally admitted.

Keeping a steady gaze at him, Mistral asked strictly, "Why is that?"

Suddenly, he finally burst out, at the verge of tears. "It's because this is just a game! I could never feel her, I could never touch her, I couldn't take her anywhere special, I would never be able to get her a real gift, and I wouldn't be able to meet her family, eat dinner with her… It just can't be right! This is a game!"

Looking like she expected the outburst, Mistral kept her steady gaze. "This is the game you worked so hard in to save lives, Kite."

"It's still a game," Kite sighed.

"Why does that matter?" Mistral questioned him. "What are you afraid of?"

Kite was struck silent. What was he really so afraid of...?

"You're afraid of what other people will think about you," the housewife said.

Was that… was that really it? He was afraid of what people would think of him? Kite thought about this, searching deep in his heart for the answers. If he were to be with Blackrose, he would receive all sorts of taunts and teases. No one would approve of them being together, no one thinks that a relationship in a game is all right. Maybe… that was it after all.

"Yes, that's the reason and you know it," Mistral nodded. "I'll tell you right now, Kite… What you and Blackrose have is special. You shouldn't let anything silly like a game get in your way."

Kite could feel some of the daggers leaving his heart. "Don't you… don't you think it's… strange, Mistral?" he asked timidly, looking away again.

"Of course it is!" Mistral suddenly shouted. "That's exactly how I met up with my husband, so I know all about this!"

The boy who saved The World tilted his head. "Really? You fell in love with a player in this game?"

"Yep!" she nodded. "It was kinda back when The World first started. I just fell in love with the way he moved, the way he acted, the way he sounded. Even the way he felt."

"What do you mean 'felt'?" Kite looked back up to her, interested.

Her bright eyes shone and she gently poked Kite's chest with her finger. "Even if it's on a game, you can feel someone else," she whispered soothingly. "Right here. Don't you think?"

Kite looked down to his chest. Yes… it was true! He could feel Blackrose after all. In his heart, there was that special warmth that could only come from her. Whenever he was with her, he could feel that warmth from her. "Yeah… you're right."

Poking his nose cutely, she gave a friendly smile. "So? Do you love her?"

All of the daggers were out of his heart now, he finally felt free. "Yes, I-uh, love Blackrose," he stumbled over his words slightly.

"Really, then?" Mistral's smile grew into a grin. "What are you going to do then?"

Standing up to his feet, he clenched his hand into a fist. "Find her. Find her and be with her," he said with a determined smile. "I'll see you later, Mistral! Thank you for your help." He ran off down the bridge, heading for the Chaos Gate as fast as possible.

Mistral giggled and stood up, noticing a random player standing next to her.

"Wow. You really fell in love with someone on this game and married him?" he asked, amazed.

Mistral shook her head. "Nope! But it sounds a lot better for Kite if I said I did!"

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

And so Kite searched.

And searched.

And searched…

He sent her messages, he looked through the servers, and he looked through fields she liked. Eventually his search came back to 'Beautiful Haunting Corridor.'

Kind of ironic, he thought to himself as the snow crunched under his feet. There was a small chance she'd be here, but it was worth a shot.

Eventually, he came to the spot where he had sat with Blackrose on the snowy hill. There he saw the imprints in the snow from where they had been. To his surprise, he heard a low growling behind him.

Just in time, he flipped around and jumped backwards, just barely dodging a mace that smashed into the snow. Kite let out a low grunt, looking to his side at a bush. Inside the dead plant, he saw Blackrose's heavyblade.

"So after I left…" he clenched his fists. "This monster killed her."

It was a good thing that this was just a game after all. Blackrose would be fine, but she'd be missing a few items or so.

He growled as the monster he recognized as a Squidbod approached. It had a physical tolerance, so he'd have to use magic. It's a good thing he was at a high level. Throwing his two daggers into the air, he called out the spell name. Immediately after, a being covered in purple darkness flew out from the sky and tackled the monster.

In one simple hit, the monster fell onto its back and exploded in a burst of light.

Blackrose would never die against a weak monster like that…

Suddenly, it came to him. Where Blackrose would be. It's so obvious! How could he not have seen it before? In a rush, he put his two daggers away and hefted the humongous sword into his hands. "Man this is heavy; I don't know how she fights with it…"

The three golden circles fell over Kite's body and he gated out of that field.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Concealed Forbidden Sanctuary.

Those were the keywords to go to the field where her brother first fell into a coma. It also was just a strange field anyways. Blackrose liked to come here.

The girl looked up at the tall temple. This place always reminded her of a church. The building towered over her, its silent darkness consuming her. The tall spires raked against the dark clouds overhead and the two double doors were open just a crack.

Hopefully there wouldn't be any monsters. She looked at her empty hands. She didn't ever decide to get her weapon back, so she was helpless here. With a sad sigh, she walked forward, her footsteps echoing in the strange void.

As she made it inside, she saw the human-sized statue of Aura at the end of the room. She was just a little girl with dark-black chains wrapped around her statue, to be trapped and alone in this sanctuary forever.

Trapped and alone…

Just like Blackrose.

Up ahead on the high ceiling, small rounded chandeliers hung over her, swaying silently in the virtual breeze. She walked down the chapel and stared at the empty wooden seats with a feeling of despair. Maybe she should just stay here forever, and keep Aura company.

Now with Kite gone… Blackrose took a seat against the chained up statue and locked her arms around her legs. She really was alone. At school, she wasn't exactly Miss Popular. Of course, she had friends, but they weren't someone she could truly count on when she needed to. They were just kind of… there.

What had she been thinking in the first place? Kite was smarter than to love someone like her! She didn't even know if Kite was his real name… how pathetic. "Damn it… not again," she cursed, tears slowly rolling down her cheeks. "I… I don't cry. I have no reason to cry. My brother is back again, everything is great." The tears began to flow out harder now. "Everything… is great…"

"Blackrose!"

Still crying, the girl looked up from her spot. There on the walkway stood Kite with her heavyblade. "W-what do you want?" she spat, turning her head away, ashamed to be seen crying.

"Blackrose…" he said softly. "Please don't cry."

Suddenly furious, she turned around, tears streaming out now. "Shut up! I'm behind a computer, you don't know if I'm crying or not!"

With a gentle smile, he held out his hand to her. "That's what you said last time you came her and cried. Blackrose…"

The heavyblade shot a glare at him, showing such a deep anger that she didn't even mean to show. She just wasn't very good at emotions. "I don't care what you have to say, I don't care at all! All I care about is you leaving me alone!"

Why did you say that? That's not true! I want you to stay, Kite…

Looking as if he were hurt, he took a step back and dropped the large weapon. "Is… that really what you want?"

Letting out a scream of frustration, she leapt off the statue and charged at Kite. Before he could know what was going on, Blackrose was crying into his shoulder, yelling how stupid he was. "No, you idiot, I don't want you to leave me!"

Kite could feel her now. Inside his chest, he could feel Blackrose. It didn't matter anymore. He wrapped his arms around the sobbing girl and softly pat her head. "It's okay, Blackrose… I'm here right now. Can you feel me?"

Still crying, she refused to look at him. "Of course I can't!"

Silently and gently, he pulled Blackrose off himself. "No…" he poked his finger above her chest silently, near her heart. "Can you feel me right here?"

Blackrose looked down at her chest, her crying finally ceased. All that was left were a few sniffles. "Right… here?" she asked timidly, putting her hand on her chest.

"Yes," he nodded.

In her heart, there was a warm embracing feeling. That feeling came from Kite and she knew it. "I… I can feel you, Kite," she said, amazed.

"Then you must know how I feel for you," Kite whispered, looking into her eyes. Blackrose shook her head almost sleepily. "I love you, too."

Her eyes widened, and she wasn't sure how to react. "Bu-but what about this just being a game?"

With a small smile, he leaned forward and pressed his lips against hers.

The World is a simple online game. A place for friends to play, a place to adventure where otherwise impossible in the real world, a place to relax… and for these two… it was a place to fall in love.

Even if they couldn't feel each others body, even if they were far away…

Their hearts were connected. No one could say they were better than these two because they had a relationship in real life. No one could truly tease them or mock them. There was no substitute for true love, and this was it.

When their lips parted, Blackrose looked at Kite, her face red with embarrassment. "So what made this okay with you all the sudden?"

Kite smiled. "What's stopping us from being together?"

Blackrose tilted her head.

"It's just a game after all."


End file.
